The present invention relates to a data transmission device and particularly, to a data transmission device which transmits data such as text data, image data, speech data or the like, to a data reproducing terminal (hereinafter simply referred to as terminal) such as a telephone terminal, a facsimile terminal, an electronic mail terminal, a radio pager (a so-called pocket bell) or the like, which is present on a network of LAN, WAN, wire communication, wireless communication or a combination thereof, through the network.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 9-366401, filed Dec. 24, 1997, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Data forms communicated through a network have, in recent years, included a variety of kinds of data such as speech data at a telephone terminal and image data at a facsimile terminal. Other kinds of communicated data include text data used in electronic mail and a radio pager. Also, the kinds of terminals used in daily life have been progressively increasing.
Every terminal has unique identification data effective within the same network. A line number of a telephone terminal is a typical example thereof. When a telephone number is transmitted through a network, a necessary line route for call communication is established by one or more exchange systems and speech data can thus be exchanged between specified terminals. In the case of terminals on a LAN (local network), each terminal has a unique node data such as an Ethernet address or an IP (Internet protocol) address, and the data can be transmitted to a specified terminal by transmitting data with attachment of the node data thereof.
According to the above described conventional technique, however, a receiver address of data is determined using unique identification data exclusively assigned to each terminal. Accordingly, for example, when a specific individual to whom the data is to be transmitted is not available near a receiver terminal thereof, the specific individual cannot access the data at the same time when the data is transmitted to the terminal. Hence, a problem of being poor in regard to immediate accessibility of transmission occurs.
If such circumstances are expressed in a metaphor, the above described technique can be said to be a post office box in a postal service. The reason why is as follows: While a position of a post office box is fixed, a specific individual who owns the post office box is present in a different place other than the post office box and in addition, is constantly on the move in a great part of the day. Therefore, if the specific individual does not access the post office for confirmation in a positive way, the specific individual cannot know the delivery of the data at all.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a data transmission device in which it is possible that a terminal which is near a specific individual is selected and data is transmitted to the selected terminal, thus improving immediate accessibility of transmitted data.
According to the present invention, there is provided a data transmission device which transmits data to a predetermined individual via a network, comprising first storage means for storing individual position data indicating a position of the predetermined individual at a present time or at an arbitrary time point in a given time period including the present time; second storage means for storing terminal position data of terminals on the network, each of which the predetermined individual has a possibility to use; means for extracting such terminal position data from the second storage means that coincides with or is the closest to the individual position data stored in the first storage means; means for selecting a terminal having the extracted terminal position data and transmitting means for transmitting data to the terminal selected by the selecting means.
The data transmission device further comprises first updating means for requesting transmission of individual position data from a first position detector which the specific individual has and updating the individual position data stored in the first storage means based on the individual position data transmitted from the first position detector; and second updating means for requesting transmission of terminal position data from second position detectors attached to all the terminals, each of which the specific individual has a possibility to use, on the network, and updating the terminal position data stored in the second storage means based on the terminal position data transmitted from the second position detectors.
According to the present invention, there is provided another data transmission device which transmits data to a specific individual via a network, comprising first means for determining whether a transmitter of the data is a predetermined transmitter; second means for determining whether a predetermined keyword is included in the data; and means for transmitting the data to a predetermined terminal on the network when the first means determines that the transmitter of the data is the predetermined transmitter or when the second means determines that the predetermined keyword is included in the data.
The other data transmission device further comprises first storage means for storing individual position data indicating a position of the specific individual at a present time or at an arbitrary time point in a given time period including the present time; second storage means for storing terminal position data of all terminals on the network, each of which the specific individual has a possibility to use; selecting means for selecting a terminal of which terminal position data coincides with or is the closest to the individual position data stored in the first storage means; and transmitting means for transmitting data to the terminal selected by the selecting means.
According to the present invention, there is provided a further data transmission device which transmits data to a specific individual via a network, comprising storage means for storing use schedules of all terminals on the network, each of which the specific individual has a possibility to use; selecting means for selecting a terminal which is assumed to be used by the specific individual with reference to the use schedules stored in the storage means when a transmission event occurs; and transmitting means for transmitting data to the terminal selected by the selecting means.
The transmitting means transmits the data to a terminal other than the selected terminal when the selected terminal cannot receive the data.
The transmitting means in the above data transmission devices comprises means for comparing a data form of transmitting data and a data form which can be processed by the selected terminal; and means for converting the data form of the transmitting data into a data form which can be processed by the selected terminal when the comparing means detects noncoincidence.
According to the present invention, there is provided a computer readable program comprising program code for storing individual position data indicating a position of the predetermined individual at a present time or at an arbitrary time point in a given time period including the present time to first storage means; program code for storing terminal position data of terminals on the network to second storage means, each of which the predetermined individual has a possibility to use; program code for extracting such terminal position data from the second storage means that coincides with or is the closest to the individual position data stored in the first storage means; program code for selecting a terminal having the extracted terminal position data; and program code for transmitting data to the selected terminal.
The program further comprises program code for requesting transmission of individual position data from a first position detector which the specific individual has and updating the individual position data stored in the first storage means based on the individual position data transmitted from the first position detector; and program code for requesting transmission of terminal position data from second position detectors attached to all the terminals, each of which the specific individual has a possibility to use, on the network, and updating the terminal position data stored in the second storage means based on the terminal position data transmitted from the second position detectors.
According to the present invention, there is provided another computer readable program comprising program code for determining whether a transmitter of data is a predetermined transmitter; program code for determining whether a predetermined keyword is included in the data; and program code for transmitting the data to a predetermined terminal on the network when it is determined that the transmitter of the data is the predetermined transmitter or when it is determined that the predetermined keyword is included in the data.
The program further comprises program code for storing individual position data indicating a position of the specific individual at a present time or at an arbitrary time point in a given time period including the present time into first storage means; program code for storing terminal position data of all terminals on the network, each of which the specific individual has a possibility to use into second storage means; program code for selecting a terminal of which terminal position data coincides with or is the closest to the individual position data stored in the first storage means; and program code for transmitting data to the selected terminal.
According to the present invention, there is provided a further computer readable program comprising program code for storing use schedules of all terminals on the network, each of which the specific individual has a possibility to use into storage means; selecting means for selecting a terminal which is assumed to be used by the specific individual with reference to the use schedules stored in the storage means when a transmission event occurs; and program code for transmitting data to the selected terminal.
According to the present invention, the data can be transmitted to a terminal which is located in the vicinity of a specific individual and immediate accessibility of data transmission can thereby be improved.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention.
The objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.